.png&width=100&height=100)
No. 69 Flames to Meet Bellarmine, No. 36 VCU in Final Two Road Contests
4/6/2022 1:58:49 PM | Men's Tennis
Liberty Men’s Tennis Instagram
The No. 69-ranked Liberty Flames will meet Bellarmine and No. 36-ranked VCU in their final two road contests of the season, Friday and Sunday.
Liberty (7-9, 3-2 ASUN) and Bellarmine (5-12, 1-4 ASUN) will square off in ASUN action on Friday afternoon. The match will commence at 3 p.m. at the Eddie Weber Tennis Complex. The Flames will travel back to the Commonwealth for a Sunday afternoon non-conference match at No. 36 VCU. Match time is 1 p.m. at the Thalhimer Tennis Center.
The Flames currently sit in fourth place in the ASUN at 3-2, a game behind Kennesaw State (4-1), North Florida (4-1) and FGCU (4-1). Liberty bested North Alabama 6-1 in its most recent match, last Friday. The Knights (1-4) are tied for eighth in the ASUN and will be looking to bounce back following a 4-3 setback at UNA, last Sunday.
VCU sports a 14-6 overall record and has won seven straight matches. The Rams will play a road match at Elon on Friday prior to hosting the Flames.
Flames News and Notes
• This will be the fifth all-time meeting between Liberty and Bellarmine. The Flames hold the 4-0 series edge. Liberty defeated Bellarmine three times in 2021, including a 4-0 win in the ASUN Men’s Tennis Championship quarterfinal round. The Flames’ other two victories against the Knights last season were 7-0 sweeps.
• The Flames are 0-5 all-time against the Rams. The two teams last met on Feb. 7, 2020, a 4-3 VCU win in Lynchburg.
• Junior Josh Wilson paces the squad with 25 singles wins during the 2021-22 campaign. He is 10-4 in spring singles contests and 4-0 in the No. 1 slot. With his singles triumph at North Alabama last Friday, Wilson became the fourth player in program history to win 25 or more matches in a season (fall and spring combined), joining Sam Matheson (28 wins, 2016), Shea Thomas (27 wins, 2013) and Nicaise Muamba (26 wins, 2019).
• Wilson’s current doubles partner, Christiaan Worst, shares the team lead with Wilson for singles victories this spring with 10. The Pretoria, South Africa native holds a 10-5 record playing in the No. 3 (2-0) and No. 4 (8-5 record) slots in the lineup.
• No. 69 Liberty has been ranked among the top 75 teams in the country seven times this season. The Flames reached as high as No. 57, Feb. 23. Over the last two seasons, Liberty has been nationally ranked 14 times. The Flames’ highest mark was No. 39, achieved on May 26, 2021.
• Following this weekend’s matches, Liberty will host No. 71 North Florida (April 14) and Stetson (April 16) to close out regular season play. Both matches will start at 3 p.m. at the Liberty Tennis Complex. The April 16 match against the Stetson Hatters will be Senior Day for the Flames.